Milada Horáková
Encyclopedia
Dr. Milada Horáková was a Czech politician executed by Communists on charges of conspiracy and treason.
and then studied law at the Charles University. She graduated in 1926 and then worked at the Prague City Council. In the same year she graduated, she entered the Czechoslovak National Socialist Party, despite the misleading name a strong opponent of the Nazis. After the German occupation of Czechoslovakia
in 1939, she joined the underground resistance movement, but was arrested by the Gestapo
in 1940. She was initially sentenced to death, but later her punishment was reduced to life imprisonment and Horáková was sent to the concentration camp Terezín and then to various prisons in Germany.
After the liberation in May 1945, she returned to Prague, rejoining her party. She was elected a Member of Parliament, where she remained until the Communist coup in February 1948, when she resigned. Even though she was urged by her friends to leave Czechoslovakia, she remained in the country and was still politically active. On 27 September 1949 she was arrested and eventually accused of being the leader of a supposed plot to overthrow the Communist regime.
The StB
, a Czechoslovak secret police infamous for brutal interrogation methods, tried to break the group of the alleged plotters and forced them to confess to treason and conspiracy using both physical and psychological torture.
The trial of her and her twelve colleagues began on 31 May 1950. It was intended to be a show trial
like those of the Soviet
Great Purges in the 1930s, broadcast on the radio and even supervised by Soviet advisors. The trial had a script which everyone involved was supposed to follow, but on several occasions both prosecutor Ludmila Brožová-Polednová and the defendant managed to state their true feelings - . Horáková stood firm and defended herself and her ideals even though she knew that such fight could only worsen her conditions and the final result. The State's prosecutor was Dr. Josef Urválek
.
She was sentenced to death along with three of her co-defendants on 8 June 1950. Many famous people, notably Albert Einstein
, Winston Churchill
and Eleanor Roosevelt
, petitioned for her life, but in spite of this the sentence was confirmed and she was hanged in Pankrác Prison
on 27 June 1950. She was 48 years old.
In 2005 the uncensored original recording of the trial was found by the filmmaker Martin Vadas.
The verdict was cancelled in June 1968 during the Prague Spring
, but because of the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia that followed, Horáková's reputation was not fully rehabilitated until after the Velvet Revolution
of 1989. 27 June, the day of her execution, was declared "Commemoration day of the victims of the Communist regime" in the Czech Republic as of the year 2004. A major thoroughfare in Prague 6 was re-named in her honor in 1990.
On 11 September 2008, Ludmila Brožová-Polednová, the prosecutor in the Horáková trial, was sentenced to 6 years in prison, 58 years after her crime, at the age of 87.
Biography
She was born as Milada Králová in PraguePrague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
and then studied law at the Charles University. She graduated in 1926 and then worked at the Prague City Council. In the same year she graduated, she entered the Czechoslovak National Socialist Party, despite the misleading name a strong opponent of the Nazis. After the German occupation of Czechoslovakia
German occupation of Czechoslovakia
German occupation of Czechoslovakia began with the Nazi annexation of Czechoslovakia's northern and western border regions, known collectively as the Sudetenland, under terms outlined by the Munich Agreement. Nazi leader Adolf Hitler's pretext for this effort was the alleged privations suffered by...
in 1939, she joined the underground resistance movement, but was arrested by the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
in 1940. She was initially sentenced to death, but later her punishment was reduced to life imprisonment and Horáková was sent to the concentration camp Terezín and then to various prisons in Germany.
After the liberation in May 1945, she returned to Prague, rejoining her party. She was elected a Member of Parliament, where she remained until the Communist coup in February 1948, when she resigned. Even though she was urged by her friends to leave Czechoslovakia, she remained in the country and was still politically active. On 27 September 1949 she was arrested and eventually accused of being the leader of a supposed plot to overthrow the Communist regime.
The StB
STB
STB is an acronym that can mean:* Sacrae Theologiae Baccalaureus – Bachelor of Sacred Theology* Set-top box – a television device that converts signals to viewable images* Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP -- a law firm...
, a Czechoslovak secret police infamous for brutal interrogation methods, tried to break the group of the alleged plotters and forced them to confess to treason and conspiracy using both physical and psychological torture.
Show trial
The term show trial is a pejorative description of a type of highly public trial in which there is a strong connotation that the judicial authorities have already determined the guilt of the defendant. The actual trial has as its only goal to present the accusation and the verdict to the public as...
like those of the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
Great Purges in the 1930s, broadcast on the radio and even supervised by Soviet advisors. The trial had a script which everyone involved was supposed to follow, but on several occasions both prosecutor Ludmila Brožová-Polednová and the defendant managed to state their true feelings - . Horáková stood firm and defended herself and her ideals even though she knew that such fight could only worsen her conditions and the final result. The State's prosecutor was Dr. Josef Urválek
Josef Urválek
JUDr Josef Urválek was a procurator and later judge of the Czechoslovak state court. He is known for his participation in the political processes in socialist Czechoslovakia during the 1950s...
.
She was sentenced to death along with three of her co-defendants on 8 June 1950. Many famous people, notably Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
, Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
and Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...
, petitioned for her life, but in spite of this the sentence was confirmed and she was hanged in Pankrác Prison
Pankrác Prison
Pankrác Prison, officially Prague Pankrác Remand Prison , is a prison in Prague, Czech Republic...
on 27 June 1950. She was 48 years old.
In 2005 the uncensored original recording of the trial was found by the filmmaker Martin Vadas.
Other defendants
- Jan Buchal (1913–1950), State Security officer (executed)
- Vojtěch Dundr (1879–1957), former Secretary of the Czechoslovak Social Democratic Party (15 years)
- Dr. Jiří Hejda (1895–1985), former factory owner (life imprisonment)
- Dr. Bedřich Hostička (1914–1996), secretary of the Czechoslovak People's Party (28 years)
- Záviš KalandraZáviš KalandraZáviš Kalandra was a Czechoslovak historian and theorist of literature executed by Communists on charges of conspiracy and treason....
(1902–1950), journalist (executed) - Antonie Kleinerová (1901–1996), former Member of Parliament for the Czechoslovak National Socialist Party (life imprisonment)
- Dr. Jiří Křížek (1895–1970), lawyer (22 years)
- Dr. Josef Nestával (1900–1976), administrator (life imprisonment)
- Dr. Oldřich Pecl (1903–1950), former mine owner (executed)
- Professor Dr. Zdeněk Peška (1900–1970), university professor (25 years)
- František Přeučil (1907–1996), publisher (life imprisonment)
- Františka Zemínová (1882–1962), editor and former Member of Parliament for the Czechoslovak National Socialist Party (20 years)
The verdict was cancelled in June 1968 during the Prague Spring
Prague Spring
The Prague Spring was a period of political liberalization in Czechoslovakia during the era of its domination by the Soviet Union after World War II...
, but because of the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia that followed, Horáková's reputation was not fully rehabilitated until after the Velvet Revolution
Velvet Revolution
The Velvet Revolution or Gentle Revolution was a non-violent revolution in Czechoslovakia that took place from November 17 – December 29, 1989...
of 1989. 27 June, the day of her execution, was declared "Commemoration day of the victims of the Communist regime" in the Czech Republic as of the year 2004. A major thoroughfare in Prague 6 was re-named in her honor in 1990.
On 11 September 2008, Ludmila Brožová-Polednová, the prosecutor in the Horáková trial, was sentenced to 6 years in prison, 58 years after her crime, at the age of 87.
See also
- Rudolf SlánskýRudolf SlánskýRudolf Slánský was a Czech Communist politician. Holding the post of the party's General Secretary after World War II, he was one of the leading creators and organizers of Communist rule in Czechoslovakia...
- Slánský trial
- Rudolf MargoliusRudolf MargoliusRudolf Margolius was Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade, Czechoslovakia , and a co-defendant in the Slánský trial in November 1952....
- László RajkLászló RajkLászló Rajk was a Hungarian Communist; politician, former Minister of Interior and former Minister of Foreign Affairs...
- Traicho KostovTraicho KostovTraicho Kostov Djunev was a Bulgarian politician, former President of the Council of Ministers and General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party....
- Heliodor PíkaHeliodor PíkaGeneral Heliodor Píka was a Czechoslovak army officer who was executed by his country's Communist regime after a show trial.-Early life:...
External links
- Milada Horakova – Czech in history, from archives of Czech Radio with realaudio stream version.
- Brief biography
- Martyr for freedom